


Beat the Champ

by kudosmoon



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Also Alois is an Announcer?, Alternate Universe - Wrestling, But Really only as Appropriate to a Wrestling AU, Gen, Humor, and some violence, some blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:27:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24446569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kudosmoon/pseuds/kudosmoon
Summary: Hugo Zoltan is a heel. Dimitri Storm is a face. Their great rivalry has formed the cornerstone of the Garreg Mach Wrestling Federation's slow rise in the world of professional wrestling.But things are beginning to change at the GMWF. Felix, who plays Hugo, attempts to weather those changes, and weigh them against the integrity of the name he has made for himself. Can he really play the face against a growling, snarling, stupid eye-patch wearing cartoon character?
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	Beat the Champ

The eye-patch is the stupidest choice in the world. 

Honestly, this whole storyline might be the dumbest thing in the world. 

Felix has done a ton of heel work before - he’s honestly better at it. That’s why ‘Hugo Zoltan’ didn’t really change much, even after he went face. Frigging Eisner. _Frigging_ Byleth Eisner, with their wild ideas and history writing soap operas. They’d looked at their charts, and saw that he had a sizable fanbase saying ‘God, I wish Hugo would just turn good so I could like him.’ Eisner’s argument had been that they had to give the people what they wanted. “Just be Hugo, but like, if Hugo were good.”

Only the entire idea of Hugo was that he didn’t care about anything. He was indifferent to anything but the win. He was an asshole to crowds and walked off from awards ceremonies. He basically didn’t give a shit about wrestling and was showing how dumb it was by still being better at it than people who did care. And that made the audience feel stupid, because _they_ were invested. In other words, audiences were _supposed_ to hate him because he was a _prick._ So then it was satisfying to them when all-American rock-star-Superman Dimitri came in, told Hugo off, and proceeded to kick his ass. Crowds got what they wanted, and they cheered their heads off. Then Felix would get up and spit something petty, and they’d be reaffirmed in their belief that Hugo Zoltan was loser and Dimitri Storm was a winner and that made _them_ feel like _they’d_ won along with him. Thus, fandom. It was Wrestling 101.

Making Hugo do a face turn ruined that dynamic. For one thing, Hugo _was_ his cynicism. Take that away and what did he really have left? Were audiences really going to buy that the guy who once kidnapped Dimitri’s girlfriend (before real-life Dimitri and El had had the falling out to end all falling outs) was now rescuing plucky young Ashe Ubert? He was basically Dimitri’s nemesis. Now they were tag team partners? No one would buy it.

Except people did. Apparently they really liked Hugo as a grumpy knight in shining armor. And Felix was just the only one who saw that he was obviously meant to just play the villain. But he didn’t write the scripts, popular demand did. And so, Hugo Zoltan was now Dimitri Storm’s cynical friend. Who had literally stabbed him in the back a few years ago, but who remembered? Now they were friends.

Only now real-life Dimitri had gotten some hair-brained scheme in his head that _he_ wanted to try being a heel. Brilliant. Because that worked for Hogan or Cena so well. Couldn’t he be satisfied with being the hero? He had to be the villain too?

And to be the villain, he had to wear a stupid eye patch and growl a lot?

He did his official turn last week, in a match against a new baby face Eisner signed, Caspar Bergliez (stage name Little Blue Giant, which is _never_ going to stick). The Notorious LBG had come running up into the arena, eager to finally have a one on one with three time Garreg Mach Wrestling Federation champion Dimitri Storm. Prince of the ring. The Tempest King. A dream come true!

And Dimitri was waiting there, and he had his stupid eye-patch on and the announcers were raving about how sullen and out of character he seemed. And Largely Buffoonish Guy bounded up to him and threw out his hand, expecting a handshake, a winning smile, and a ‘may the best man win!’

And instead Dimitri just _ruined his day_. He only hit Likable But Goofy three times. A sucker punch out of nowhere, a clothesline, diving elbow drop. Pinned. They must’ve practiced it all week - it seemed effortless. The whole thing was like, five seconds.

The Dimitri snatched the mic from the ref. And he just stared at the audience, and they were all expecting some big, ‘The King’s coming back big this time!’

And instead he just muttered, “Satisfied?” in that stupid Batman growl that he’s doing for this storyline. Then he dropped the mic and walked off.

_Which is totally Hugo’s move. That’s what Hugo Zoltan is supposed to be like, Eisner!!!_

Here’s the thing, though: Felix has basically been wrong every time that it counts when it comes to predicting crowds. Down south, he had a brief stint with the National Board of Wrestling (a minor circuit in Enbarr, Texas) and tried this samurai gimmick for a minor face character, thinking people would like something different. Honestly, on that one he should’ve read the room better.

At the GMWF, he’s been just as consistently wrong. He was wrong about Dimitri not being able to win a crowd with his old-school showboating and heroic posturing. He was wrong about Sylvain “Ladykiller” Gautier’s really weird werewolf gimmick storyline (it flew, and Felix had had to let Sylvain beat him while making wolf noises). He was wrong when he thought that nobody would want a face turn for Hugo. He’s basically never been right, not even once by accident. It’s gotten to the point that Sylvain has been asking him for lotto numbers just so he can play _anything else_.

This one, though, he has to be right about. Like, this is a bad idea, isn’t it? Don’t years of heroic wrestlers like Dimitri Storm imitates failing to ‘go bad’ prove that Dimitri can’t do it either? This will never fly, and basically just get retconned immediately. Felix can’t wait to see how Dimitri’s eye magically grows back.

But they’re just _eating this shit up_. People are losing their minds on the GMWF Reddit about Dimitri. The Tempest King’s turned heel? Our shining light in the Federation has gone dark!? Horror!!!

Felix has read three different theories about Dimitri’s frigging eye, and it’s only been a week. At this point he honestly hopes that the ‘Hugo did it!’ theorists are right. 

_Because that would be something villainous and Hugo Zoltan is a villain!!!_

Felix doesn’t bring this up for his meeting with Eisner. They have this week’s match between him and Dimitri all planned out, and oh joy, he’s going to be jobbing for Dimitri again.

The two of them have both been at GMWF for five years, and faced off nine times. Dimitri has won eight of those. There was a year that Hugo won the championship, and so the arc of the next season was a sort of ‘reclaiming lost glory’ for Dimitri and for the Federation. Felix actually liked that arc a lot, he got to be such a shit all year. But he’s _supposed_ to lose to Dimitri. It’s where he belongs, in a weird way.

But that’s because this is wrestling, and the hero beats the villain _and Hugo Zoltan is a villain damn it!_

But Eisner is married to Dimitri’s new spin on the character, at least for now. They see the redemption arc at the end of this sad, stupid tunnel.

Felix is like eighty-five percent sure they’re sleeping together. Why else would Eisner consistently give Dimitri whatever he wants, even when it’s so pants-on-head idiotic?

Tonight, after a solid week of speculation and questions from the fanbase, is the big night. The advertising team has done a stellar job hyping the fight. They staged a mini street interview with Dimitri, bombarding him with questions: about if he was excited for the new season, about his distinctly non-standard fight with Look Bergliez Get-a-new-name. And of course about the eye.

Dimitri just pushed through and snarled over his shoulder at them, “Isn’t it enough that I carry this chicken-s[bleep] outfit? F[bleep] off.”

Felix has watched that silly little promotional bit a few times, looking for something to riff on for the match. And he has to admit, Dimitri is a good actor. He’s really selling this new angle. If he wasn’t Dimitri Storm, known golden boy, Felix could buy it. But he can’t just erase the last five years!

Only…

If Felix just stops thinking and just goes with the flow, he’ll be surprised a lot less often. But he can’t help it. He’s an artist, and he wants to create the best possible picture he can out of his craft.

It just so happens that apparently he has no idea how to do that, and what people will actually respond to.

Which, if he’s being completely honest, kind of reflects his personal life. Which some might call a cavalcade of faux pas, misunderstandings, and tragic, tragic accidents.

So one _might_ say that his lack of understanding of what people want is just an extension of not being comfortable with opening up to people. If he were in the mood for self-reflection.

But he’s not.

So when the night of the match comes, and everyone’s backstage:

“I can’t fucking believe they’re buying this crap.”

“In character already, ‘Hugo?’” Sylvain asks. They’re in the locker room, cameras off. Eisner hasn’t alluded to any kind of pre-match surprises (other than Dimitri’s blowup at the audience, currently in progress). So it should be fine to talk shop.

“Hugo’s not even here yet,” Felix mutters. It’s actually Ladykiller’s match with Dimitri tonight. Hugo’s ‘not supposed to be here tonight.’ He’s a surprise - people obviously expect him to face off against Storm at some point, because he has to. A world where they don’t eventually clash, even if it’s friendly, is a world foreign and terrifying. But later. They don’t expect the showdown right at the beginning of the storyline. Gotta build up Dimitri’s heel turn.

Sylvain has this ridiculous getup that he wears for Ladykiller. He’s basically a chippendales dancer (Sylvain’s joked about having been one in the past, and the more Felix thinks about it, the more he wonders if it’s even a joke). Bowtie and a speedo, which is patterned like a tuxedo. A tuxspeedo. He also has this silly little white face mask - very Robin the Boy Wonder. And he’s _inundated_ with glitter. Which Felix thinks sends entirely the wrong message about the character, but Felix is, as established, wrong about everything. The getup pretty much _is_ Sylvain’s character in that he basically doesn’t even _try_ to be Ladykiller until he has at least the bowtie on. 

Sylvain _must_ care about the art form, but he has a cavalier way of showing it.

It’s not that he doesn’t work hard - he’s filling blood packs right now ahead of the fight. There’s a set piece planned where his mouth is going to start bleeding, and ideally they won’t _actually_ just rip his teeth out tonight.

But… “So you’re just dead set against Dimitri going bad, aren’t you?”

“Because it’s stupid!” Felix shouts.

“You said that.”

“I’ll say it again.” Felix has been pacing. In part it’s because he has to keep away from Sylvain during his prep because that glitter gets _everywhere_. And Hugo can’t have Ladykiller’s glitter on him, because Hugo _hates_ Ladykiller. They wouldn’t just be hanging out before the match. What’s more, though, there’ve been butterflies in Felix’s stomach ahead of this match, which is utterly idiotic. He’s an old hand here. Fighting Dimitri, losing to Dimitri is practically his entire job. And yet… “Sylvain, he’s practically the main character of GMWF.”

“Yeah, that’s part of why he’s doing it,” Sylvain says simply. Felix gives him an interrogating look until he continues, “We got drinks a couple months back. Well, _I_ got drinks. You know how he- it doesn’t matter.”

It kinda does. If Dimitri Blaiddyd remembers that Dimitri Storm is supposed to be a teetotaler (a detail he came up with when he started getting younger fans), why can’t he remember that he’s supposed to be _good_?

Sylvain doesn’t want to talk about that point, though, he wants to elaborate, “He got to talking about how Garreg Mach has kinda become the Dimitri show, and that they oughta do some kind of storyline that’ll change that. Guess this is that.”

“And whose show exactly is it going to be? Someone has to _beat_ him. The Federation hero doesn’t just turn heel and get away with it. Otherwise we’re… I dunno. Grimdark wrestling. Which cannot be a thing,” Felix crosses his arms, leans back against the locker, “The storyline needs a hero. So who’s it gonna be?”

Sylvain looks at him like he’s an idiot, and Felix can’t for the life of him tell why. When he makes it clear he doesn’t get it, Sylvain rolls his eyes and examines his bow tie, “Maybe me?”

Felix snorts. So does Sylvain. Ladykiller has won maybe thirty percent of his matches. He comes off as tougher than he is because Sylvain’s good at hype. He ends up involved in basically every storyline because Ladykiller isn’t a _bad_ guy, but he’s not a _hero_ either. So he’s a good fit to establish any new plot thread. Show how tough the new face is and how scary the new heel is. Throw in some wins for flavor so people can take him seriously.

Sylvain affixes his bow tie. He takes a moment to inspect it, winks and kisses at the mirror. Felix is amazed anyone can take _that_ seriously.

Ladykiller’s starting to come out: Sylvain’s speech is lighter, more languid as he slips into character, “Look, man. You can sit around pouting all night, or you can get out there and have some fun.”

Hugo doesn’t know how to have fun. Felix has an idea, but no desire to break kayfabe.

Somewhere above them, boos echo loud enough that Felix and Sylvain hear them echoing through the floor. A moment later, the broadcast outside the locker room (that Felix really should be using to get into character) tells them why: Dimitri is building to a crescendo. Almost time to go.

Sylvain gets to his feet, cracks his neck. Gives Felix a slap on the shoulder (Felix immediately inspects for glitter), “See you up there.”

Either Felix or Hugo scoffs, which Sylvain laugh. He’s gone, and Felix is left alone with his thoughts.

On the screen outside, Dimitri roars, “And I’ve had it with all of _Garreg Mach’s_ Saturday morning cartoon BS! So let me tell you how it’s gonna be, idiots!” The audience boos, and Dimitri riffs for a little bit while they quiet enough for him to make good on his promise, “From now on, no more playtime. No more letting all of Eisner’s prissy little projects take _my_ glory! From now on: Storm wins. Storm wins. Storm wins! Don’t like it? Suck less, fight better!”

A camera does a closeup on Dimitri, he gets right up in its face, practically swallowing the mic as he seethes, “Send me your heroes: I’ll kill every last one of them. This is my show now.”

Jesus. That’s a line to _end_ on. Felix glares up, altogether too moved by the moment, at the screen. When he was a kid, this was the kind of heel that got him cheering for the hero. He couldn’t articulate then that he hated their lack or art, of passion for the _craft_ of wrestling. Because he was kid, and he didn’t get that what he was looking at _was_ art.

Now he does. It’s why he wants people to hate Hugo Zoltan: because he’s a dick with no respect for his craft.

And it’s why he hates this storyline: because Storm always understood.

God, Felix is a dumb kid again. It’s a _character_. 

And yet he feels Hugo’s resentment for Storm, looking at Dimitri on that screen. This is an affront to everything that they’ve worked on for the last five years. He’s not sure whether the decision to go teach the champ a lesson comes from himself or Hugo.

* * *

Whoever it comes from, Felix still has plenty of waiting ahead of him. He’s in character already - there’s the off chance that Eisner pulls funny business, and Hugo gets ambushed on his way to the ring. They already shot a quick bit of Hugo pulling up to the arena, sailing past the paparazzi, grim determination on his face. So he’s been established as there, but no one knows exactly what he’s going to pull yet.

In the dimly lit hallway leading to Garreg Mach Arena’s entrance, he can hear the cheers and shouts from where he stands against a wall, arms crossed. Even if he couldn’t, there’s another television screen showing the pre-match smack talk between Storm and Ladykiller. 

Hugo Zoltan doesn’t have much in the way of a gimmick for his outfit. Black pants that are basically tights, blue leather jacket. Sometimes a shirt underneath, more often not. The jacket’s never zipped up, but he buttons it at the top if he’s going to lose it. Crowds like the little _flick_ of unbuttoning followed by tossing it aside. It looks cool, Felix is convinced.

Basically, Hugo Zoltain looks kinda like a douche who doesn’t care what you think. You know. Because he is.

Except now… Eisner prepped him on the way. ‘Basically, it’s gonna be just like old times. Just get out there and tear down whatever Dimitri’s doing.’ They’d winked, ‘I mean, that’s basically your comfort zone, right?’

Okay, but how is Hugo supposed to rip Storm apart for being basically the same as him?

Dimitri is up in Sylvain’s face, pure contempt, “Surprised you even made it tonight, Ladykiller. Nobody beat your ass on the way here?”

That gets mixed reactions. Ladykiller obviously doesn’t hold up as a skilled wrestler to any scrutiny, but fans tend to at least _like_ him. So everyone pretends he’s a little better than he is.

“The disrespect!” one of the announcers, Alois Rangeld, bellows from his perch above the arena, “How’s he gonna talk that way to a fellow GMWF Founding Father!?”

Beside him, the more subdued voice of Jeralt “The Bladebreaker” Eisner (yes they were related and yes it was a little bullshit), “This is the kinda funny business that never would’ve flown in our day, Al!”

‘In their day,’ lo those many centuries ago, these storylines had been even more ridiculous and comically big than they were now. Case-in-point: Al’s first of many, _many_ failed gimmicks had been a legitimate Nazi (‘Der Wrangler’) from back when you could make Nazis the villains without risking insulting your audience. He’d usually been the heel to The Bladebreaker’s face (until Al’s last character, under his own name, basically became his sidekick - easily the closest he’d had to a success), which was probably what made it so odd to see them all ‘Jerry and Al’ now.

Some things changed, Felix supposes.

Sylvain’s on the offensive now - though neither has dropped their mic yet. He circles the ring, pointing to his audience, visibly reveling in the cheers, “You can say what you want about me, man. I can take whatever you wanna dish out. But if you think I’m just gonna stand here and let you insult the Federation!” Pause for cheers. Nice. “And the people!” Cheers “And the _millions_! Here for the greatest show on earth!” Erupting cheers. Felix doesn’t know if GMWF is ‘millions’ of fans big yet. Sounds good though. Maybe Sylvain _is_ gunning to be the Federation’s new golden boy. 

He advances now on Dimitri, all swagger, which is gonna look real dumb in a moment, “So you think you carry this outfit, Dimitri? Fine: why don’t you stop whining and prove it? Because the people aren’t impressed - and neither is the Ladykiller!”

‘Because the people aren’t impressed - and neither is the Storm.’ _That’s_ how that should sound. That’s how that _has_ sounded for the last five years. It sounds a little less impressive from a jobber than a champ.

But Al can get hyped about anything, “Ladies and gentlemen, are we looking at the new face of the Garreg Mach Wrestling Federation!? Is this man, this Ladykiller, going to rise all the way to the top!?”

“He’s gotta beat the champ first before he can do that, Al.” Ah, Jerry. Ever the pragmatist. He sounds more tired every day, “And if their record shows anything-” They’re seven and nil, for those keeping score at home.

“Jerry, Dimitri Storm just threw that record out the window tonight! We’re living in a wild new world where anything goes!!!”

Dimitri has been using their chatter as a moment to mug for the camera a little. Sneer harder at Ladykiller - maybe _that_ will convince the audience (and Felix) that Dimitri Storm really has gone bad. He growls into the mic, “Stop whining and prove it?” Beat, “Not a bad idea."

Drop mic, charge, grab. Suplex.

Sylvain’s the one to actually jump up - but Felix can only see that because he’s looking for it. To the audience, it straight up looks like Dimitri just - from nothing - lifted the Ladykiller over his head, then falling backwards to slam Ladykiller back first into the ground. It _looks_ like it hurts. Felix tries to catch the blade, but the camera smartly cuts to a closeup on Dimitri getting to his feet. Look at that smug face. Felix wants to hit it. Which is lucky.

Sylvain wobbles to his feet, sways a little. There’s blood running down his forehead. That’s real, but not as bad as it looks. The cut is self inflicted, small - and due to location, bleeds like crazy. It’s meant as a show of just how hard the Storm just hit him.

Dimitri doesn’t wreck Ladykiller, which is almost more humiliating than if he had. He lets Sylvain charge at him, and just no sells everything. The story they’re telling out there is plain and simple: all this time, Dimitri Storm has been playing around. He’s the toughest man in the room, and everyone’s known it for a while - now they all get to see how tough.

Sylvain’s getting tossed around like a rag doll, and he really does good work on his sells. It’d be really easy to make Dimitri look superhuman right now, but instead he’s just… strong. Scary strong. By now, the audience is like, ‘oh crap. Ladykiller’s just bit off way more than he can chew. He is _definitely_ gonna lose, and lose bad.’

Sylvain falls back from the fight, leaning against the ropes. The camera zooms in on his face, and Felix can see the horror on it. He’s coming to the same realizations too.

And that’s showtime. Felix steps out of the tunnel and into character. The chorus to ‘ _Jekyll and Hyde_ ’ by Five Finger Death Punch starts up for his entrance. Felix changed it as his most visible protest to Hugo going face. It’s also in character, though. Felix is a professional.

So he doesn’t dwell on it now: Hugo is in the zone. He doesn’t hear his music, just makes a beeline for the ring, fury and betrayal on his face.

“Wait is that… is that Hugo Zoltan? What’s he doing here!?”

“Maybe he wants to help Ladykill-” there’s a folding chair in Felix’s path. Hugo picks it up and as he vaults into the ring, gives Ladykiller a solid whack across the ‘face’ with it, “HE DOES NOT. HE DOES NOT AT ALL!!!”

Hugo has mostly toned down cheatsy BS since turning face, but he still always hits Ladykiller with a folding chair. Felix thinks it’s some kind of running gag that Eisner thinks is funny. And Sylvain gets to sell his fall, which Felix is pretty sure is half the reason he’s even a wrestler. They’ve done this move so many times that there’s barely any danger. Just aim for the shoulder, Ladykiller goes down. Hugo looks like a sucker punching asshole, because that’s what he is.

Ladykiller writhes on the ground: he’s obviously out of commission after having Dimitri wail on him for the last five minutes and then getting bum rushed out of nowhere. Getting good use out of those blood packs now: red dribbles down just chin, mingling with the real blood. Hugo steps over him, tossing the chair aside. He spreads his arms in a ‘come at me’ pose, “The hell you even trying to pull, Boar?”

That one stems back to their first match. Hugo was introduced basically tearing apart Dimitri’s whole goody two-shoes schtick. ‘You talk a big game, but you’re just a charging boar. No one’s impressed.’ That kind of thing. People liked it, so Felix kept saying it. He eventually added a finisher called ‘The Pig Sticker.’ It’s basically a spear: a leaping charge that ends up pulling on the opponent’s legs - throw in some punches if Hugo’s supposed to be playing dirty. But the name cements him as Dimitri Storm’s rival and enemy. You know, until Eisner gets crazy and stupid ideas.

Dimitri growls, low enough that the mic barely picks it up, “ _Hugo_.” There’s such a genuine hatred there. Felix would wonder if it was real-life Dimitri bleeding through with some unexpected grudge, but they’ve done this dance to many times. Usually, those are his steps. Now, it’s his turn to do this backwards in heels. The heels of a face? That doesn’t sound right.

So the first thing out of his mouth is obviously a nasty, childish, “ _Hugo_.” Eisner wanted ‘Hugo Zoltan, if Hugo Zoltan was a face.’ Fine. Doesn’t mean he’s not gonna be a dick.

“There’s one thing I’ve learned in five years of GMWF: Dimitri Storm is _nothing_ without applause. Take away the cheering fans, and what’s left? Some washed up angry kid throwing a tantrum in a… some dumbass eye-patch? The fuck happened to you!?” All eyes all on them: he knows because out of the corner of his own, he sees that Sylvain must’ve staggered out of the ring. Good. They’re gonna use as much of it as they need.

It occurs to Felix that he might’ve just buried the ‘Hugo gouged out Dimitri’s eye’ theory. Ah well, “So what, you have a bad off season and you come back acting like a little _bitch_? You think you’re the best this Federation has to offer?”

Dimitri is _seething_. It’s great. They’ve played this game before: Felix can string a nonsense ‘the reason you suck’ speech together almost unconsciously. His mouth just moves and rude vomit spills out. Only now it’s heroic. Heroic vomit, “Hell, you mighta even been right. When you had some god damn integrity. When you _stood_ for something.” 

And a weird part of Felix _feels_ Hugo’s hurt about that? Like, he’s not just indignant that this plot line is stupid. It’s stupid in a way that might permanently ruin the character of Dimitri Storm, and Felix misses him already.

“But if you’re not that now… then you’re nothing. And if I have to be the one to take you down, I’ll do it” He sneers, gets right up in Dimitri’s face. In the old days, unless it was scripted that was Dimitri’s signal to him: ‘My improv is failing me. Hit me and let’s get it started.’ It kills something in Felix to have to resort to that tactic. But he hopes Dimitri gets the message

He does. Felix sells immediately.

What has actually happened is: Dimitri has hit Felix’s mic hand with his own. They make a good solid ‘ _thwack_.’ It’s close enough that Felix’s face gets a little clipped by the mic, but nothing serious. 

It happens fast enough and close enough, that it looks like Dimitri has just sucker punched him. And so he sprawls down.

It looks good enough that Jerry’s quiet, “Oh my god” sounds genuine.

But in a second, he’s back up, and adrenaline is rushing. The referee makes token, feigned attempts to break up the ‘unscheduled’ fight. Hugo and Dimitri exchange punches, break in and out of holds. This is all ground they’ve tread before, but not that they’re going through the motions so much as they’re discussing their relationship. Storm and Zoltan have been through a lot together. They were freshly green together at the start of GMWF - that's what these holds that go nowhere mean. But they scraped and scrapped until they were the golden child and the bad boy of the ring. No matter how their matches usually go, there’s five years worth of story in their struggle. There’s hurt. There’s betrayal.

To the uninitiated, this is two men - one of whom is in tight black shorts and an eye-patch and nothing else, the other of whom is in leather and equally tight pants - fighting over a belt they won’t even win tonight. It’s a comedy.

The people watching know that it’s also drama.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this early in the season and we’re already seeing the fight of the century! Hugo Zoltan and Dimitri Storm - this is what we’ve all come here to see!”

You said it, Al.

There’s this excellent moment where Hugo is backing up Dimitri. Dimitri’s bigger than him, and stronger, but Hugo’s light on his feet - the storm may rage, but it never catches him. One moment he’s got Dimitri up against the ropes - and then he’s being suplexed out of the ring. 

He _almost_ lands on his feet, and so he’s up just in time for Dimitri to dive after him. He gets out of the way. Dimitri lands like a load of bricks, and Hugo goes for the pin, but the match roars back to life on the two count. They’re fighting outside of the ring now. Better visibility and spectacle for some, but they keep moving to give everyone a show. He gets to hit Dimitri with a chair (two chairs in one night: Eisner must want something). Dimitri gets to no sell that.

Felix’s mind usually doesn’t wander during a match, but he finds himself thinking of the times when he was a kid. When he used to look up to wrestlers like the ones Dimitri Storm _used_ to emulate. When he’d declare to anyone who would listen that he was going to be like them when he grew up. When he’d practice their moves with Glenn on their parents’ couch. _That_ had been real, if play, violence, not his and Dimitri’s modern showmanship: Felix had been too young to understand that wrestling was fake and, well, older brothers could be assholes. 

He would never win those fights. Glenn was bigger and stronger and faster, and he was the one ‘writing the scripts’ so to speak. But Felix had always been so excited for them because maybe _this_ was the time his brother would let him win - or that he’d just earn victory on his own.

This, tonight, feels like that, and where no one can see, it makes Felix smile. 

It seems a silly thing to be nostalgic for, but if it hadn’t been for wrestling with Glenn, Felix wouldn’t be here now.

And with the crowd cheering him on, begging him to bring down their rogue champ, there’s nowhere Felix would rather be.

But it has to come to an end. 

Hugo is gasping for breath. He’s hurt and flagging fast. He stops just short of the audience - some guy in the front row is either not pleased with his view of Felix’s ass or he’s learning something new about himself. 

But the Storm just keeps coming. He’s not in a rage now. Just slow, inexorable.

Felix has to admit it, Dimitri can play one hell of a villain.

Hugo has one thing left in his arsenal. _Flick_. His jacket flops to the ground (in Felix's imagination, it flutters majestically). He crouches down, charges. The Pig Sticker. For a moment he’s flying. He and Dimitri can fall together.

Or they could, if that were how this match is scripted to go. As it is, he pulls his weight just short of Dimitri. He stays upright.

Felix jumps up, and it looks like Dimitri _picks_ him up for long enough to slam him down. And just like that, he’s pinned.

For the first time, Dimitri Storm rises victorious from Hugo Zoltan to the sounds of boos. Someone gets a mic in his hand and he roars, “Anyone else think they can calm the Storm!?” He finds a camera, gets right up in it, “I’ll be back for my crown next week.”

And he’s gone.

Felix wishes that he could get up to thunderous applause, but he acts shaky on his feet, and the audience doesn’t really know what to make of them. Al says it pretty well, bellowing, “Hugo Zoltan, humiliated by his long time rival! If this is the kind of game he’s bringing to this season…”

He leaves it hanging, and Jerry supplies, “We might not be seeing much of Zoltan for much longer.”

Felix staggers toward the exit, and keeps his smile to himself. After all, Hugo is humiliated and in the middle of a crisis of faith.

But Felix is thrilled at a show well done.

* * *

No cameras in the locker room this time. After all, Storm isn’t going to be sharing a space with anybody for a while. Dimitri - back in real-life Dimitri mode, and so sans eye-patch, gives Felix a concerned look on entry, “You stayed down for a while at the end there, Felix. Did I get you?”

He’s so soft spoken and concerned in real life. Why would he even want to be a heel? Felix smirks, “Acting.”

Dimitri pants some laughter, “Genius.”

“Thank you,” Felix says absently. He always has this moment of confusion heading back into the locker room. Where did he even put anything? If he were any more artsy about it, he’d say that Hugo basically hides his street clothes, which Felix then has to go find. He muses, “Good match tonight.”

Waving that off, Dimitri says, “Nights like tonight,” nights where he’s winning, “I’m only as good as my scene partner.”

“Like I said: good match tonight,” Felix says, deadpan. 

“Still in character?”

“Wouldn’t be here if I were still in character.” Kayfabe demands that Dimitri Storm and Hugo Zoltan avoid each other - after all, they hate each other, “Hey, can I ask you something?”

Dimitri, seated on the bench between lockers, is in ripped jeans and a black t-shirt - essentially character clothes for Hugo. So he’s not just stealing Hugo’s role as Federation villain, now he’s stealing his grungey look. Cool. He sticks around to talk shop after each match. Felix used to ignore him entirely - if he got too close to Dimitri Blaiddyd, he might look too close to Dimitri Storm in the ring. He gestures for Felix to speak - but quickly says before he has a chance to, “The eye-patch was Byleth’s idea. You know how they get.”

Eisner, of course. “It wasn’t that… or not just that,” Felix lean against some lockers, “What the fuck’s with this storyline?” Blunter than he’d wanted to be, but that was par for the course, “You’re seriously trying to go from golden boy to… I don’t know, some kind of demon king overnight?”

Dimitri’s smile is embarrassed, “It’s… something Hugo said a couple years ago.”

“There’re a bunch of years and Hugo’s said a bunch of things. Clarify?”

“It was right at the start of the year he was the champ: I think it was, ‘The Dimitri Storm show is over.’” That’s really doing some digging: that was almost two years ago now, “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Garreg Mach… it really has turned into the Dimitri Storm show, hasn’t it? I mean… half the storylines right now are ‘what do we do when the Storm turns heel?’” 

“He’s the hero,” Felix says simply, “Of course it’s his show. He’s the ‘rock star superman.’” 

“Yes, but… but he’s not Superman,” Dimitri replies. His brow furrows, as it does when he’s struggling to express himself, “He’s just a guy. If he goes bad, someone else just steps up, and hey, they get the limelight for a while.” His smile is sardonic, “I’ve heard enough of your speeches to know that I’ve had my share of it.”

“That’s… Hugo,” Felix says, embarrassed. It’s not that it’s never crossed his mind that Dimitri Blaiddyd benefits a lot from Dimitri Storm’s status. He just doesn’t mind, because he’s an artist. It’s not about Hugo, it’s about the show, “Hugo Zoltan’s an asshole who doesn’t get that wrestling isn’t all about him. Don’t ruin Storm over him.”

“Bit late for that,” Dimitri says, leaning forward in thought, “And I don’t agree. Hugo is… someone who’s been hurt. Someone who chooses to interpret the world in a cynical way because that feels safer than - feel free to stop me if I’m way off base,” Felix shakes his head, though Dimitri clearly is, “… it feels safer than putting himself out there for something he believes in and getting rejected for it. He wants _love_.”

Dimitri’s eyes are shining now, and his hands move animatedly, “He wants to be cheered for, to be seen. That’s why when we first met him, he’s all about ‘look at me, I’m the toughest guy in the room and none of these other jokers matter.’ But then along comes Dimitri Storm, someone who does stand for what he believes in - even if it’s something that’s vaguely defined as ‘what’s right.’ And he just destroys Hugo every time.

“And at first, he thinks ‘if I just sink lower, then I can beat Storm and be as beloved as him.’ Only at first he can’t beat him, and then when he does, all he has is resentment.”

Felix sits down on the bench, weirdly transfixed by this utterly wrong interpretation of his character. Heels are bad and faces are good and everything else is gimmick. Dimitri’s thinking belongs on a stage.

And it keeps going, “So what’s he to do? Clearly, he has to embrace Storm’s way of thinking: it’s working. And he starts to get some of that recognition he’s been longing for, and people he can actually start to call friends, if you don’t mind the cliché…”

Felix’s face feels a little warm. He tries to distract himself with a snide, “I mean, it was nice actually being able to go to the bar with you and Sylvain. Before…”

“Exactly!” Dimitri says, “Before. Because now, Dimitri Storm has just thrown away all of the lessons that he taught Hugo Zoltan. So what does Hugo do?”

Felix thinks about it. Not for long, because the answer is obvious.

“Step up?” he asks, a kid in school, afraid to be wrong.

Dimitri smiles, pats his shoulder, “I hope so.”

And he’s gone again.

Wrestling with Glenn, Felix never played the face. He never won, and he never wanted the hero to lose. It was a simple equation. And he was happy in the role of heel, he really was.

But for the first time in a long time, he wonders what it might be like to play the good guy.


End file.
